Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Sunset Jumping


Madison's lessons on Vince have been at 7:30 the past few weeks.  The sun is usually just about setting when they are done.  Its so peaceful and magical at that time of the evening...





But even more magical is sitting on the back of my horse to ride and watch.  :)



Monday, May 29, 2017

Painting - Cleaning Your Paint Brush

Those who know me well know I have been an obsessive painter over the past couple of years.  As in walls. And other stuff.  For years I went through a crazy number of paint brushes because I simply didn't know how to clean them the right way so they'd always get hard from leftover paint.  I don't even want to think about the amount of money spent on brushes!

But along the way I picked up some tricks and I have been using the two brushes below for almost a year.  These two brushes have trimmed out this entire house - as in EVERY wall - and are now getting me through the kitchen cabinets.  The one on the right is slightly older and I haven't kept the handle as clean.  Both are still good for detail work.


So here is my brush after painting today.  I try to always keep it tucked in a plastic bag when I'm not using it to keep it from drying out much.


When done painting, I immediately run it under hot water.  If you can't rinse right away, stick it in a cup of water.

I usually rinse with the tap until the water is running pretty clear.


Then I hit it with the sprayer for more pressure.


At this point, the brush is fairly clean but you can see bits of dried paint on it that needs to come off.


This is where my trick comes in.  A dollar store scrub brush and dish soap.


I lay my brush flat in the sink and start brushing down the bristles with the scrub brush.


I work up a good lather.


Looking good!


Rinse well again.


All clean!


I squeeze out the water with my hand and smooth the bristles flat for a sharp edge.  Then I air dry my brushes standing up.  The front one is the one I just washed and the one in the back is already dry.


And that my friends, is how to clean paint brushes so well that they last you many, many walls of painting!

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Rolex 3 Day!


Madison and I have been to Rolex 3 of the past 4 years.  LOVE IT.  Best weekend of the year!

This year we had an interesting mix of weather.  The morning started out hot and cloudy but dry.  We were prepared for just about everything!



As you can see from this picture, the clouds rolled in dark and it did end up raining.  But his is also one of my favorite jumps - its not super tall but it's really wide!  This guy got a little ahead of his horse going over.



The next 5 pictures are the same rider on the same jump.  It's amazing to watch the skill of these horses navigating these jumps.






Same rider in the next 3 pics on this jump going into the water.  The jump drops way down on the other side and the horse can't really see where it's going to land until it's in the position of this first picture.



Another favorite jump - just really wide!  And these horses just stretch and skim right over!


The obligatory picture with Bruce!

Sunday was warm, sunny and WINDY!  The temp was pretty hot but up here in the shade for Stadium Jumping we ended up keeping our jackets on.  This is a much more relaxing event since we don't have to walk over hill and dale!  But it's also pretty exciting because each round brings you closer to figuring out who is going to WIN!

Apparently Madison needed a quick nap during the intermission to drag the arena!  Funny how she still made me drive most of the way home!

Sunday, May 7, 2017

April Showers?

We had some really beautiful days in April with 70+ degrees and sun. Enough that we could ride outside.  Madison had a lesson one Sunday afternoon so I watched it from horseback on Mata Hari.  It was good for him to have a "friend" out there with him and good for her to stand around in the arena and NOT get to jump.


Vince is coming along so well!  Madison has done great work with him.


This is our first spring at this barn and it's beautiful!  These bleeding hearts are blooming like crazy all over the place!


I never tire of the sunsets but this one was during an evening jumping lesson - what a great way to spend a pretty spring evening!


Friday, May 5, 2017

Mish Mash April


What happens when you son moves back home?  You do laundry.  LOTS of laundry.


And what happens when your daughter wants too look REALLY good for Easter?

And what happens when your cat loves you?


Thankfully my tulips had no ulterior motives!